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Ex-Leominster officer fired for racial slur eyes return to force

By Chris Camire, ccamire@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
03/29/2013 08:30:08 AM EDT

Then-Leominster police Officer John Perreault attends a disciplinary hearing after he was accused of using a racial slur toward then-Red Sox player Carl Crawford. Perreault was fired and is appealing the ruling. (SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE FILE PHOTO )

LEOMINSTER -- A police officer fighting to get his job back after being fired for hurling a racial insult at a black Boston Red Sox player last July will have his case heard by an arbiter on April 9.

The date was made official Thursday after a Worcester Superior Court judge denied the city's request to have the appeal decided outside of arbitration. Leominster officials believe the appeal should be handled by the Civil Service Commission, said Police Chief Robert Healey.

Healey said at the time that Perreault admitted calling Crawford a "Monday" on July 5, during the outfielder's rehabilitation assignment with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs while they were playing the Manchester, N.H., Fisher Cats. Healey recommended that Perreault be fired.

Crawford interpreted the remark as a racial insult similar to using the N-word, Healey said. Crawford now plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Healey also presented evidence that Perreault had used racial and insensitive remarks on other occasions.

Perreault's lawyer, Joseph G. Sandulli of Boston, said Perreault's use of the word "Monday" was only meant to indicate his dislike for Crawford's quality of play and his contract, in much the same way people dislike the first day of the work week.

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Reached by phone Thursday, Sandulli said he is confident Perreault will prevail in his appeal.

"Have you ever heard of a Monday?" Sandulli asked. "I have never talked to anybody who has heard that to mean anything racially insensitive."

Sandulli also blasted the city of Leominster for trying to have the arbitration date thrown out.

"They wasted the town's money and made fools of themselves, and the judge slapped them down," Sandulli said. "Justice was done."

Perreault is seeking to be reinstated to the Police Department with full pay dating back to the date of his termination. The arbiter will likely make a determination on the appeal some time in early June, Sandulli said.

If Perreault wins his appeal, the city can challenge the decision in Superior Court, Healey said. Healey said the city believes there is language in the decision that indicated the appeal should go to the Civil Service Commission.

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